Friday, September 27, 2013

Camelbak: Take The Tactical Valve Up The Mountain.

(As an aside, McNett tells me that their product development "skunk works" has taken my hack to heart and is developing a new product like it.)

Anyway, when I hurried to put together a trek up to the John Muir Wilderness area west of Bishop, CA, I forgot something very important.

Campsite next to Hungry Packer Lake, little over 11,000 ft in John Muir Wilderness

Last weekend, I was hustling to get up to the Sierra in front of an approaching, early-fall snow storm, so I threw my go-pack together (along with the hacked McNett), hopped in my trusty Silverado 2500HD 4x4 for the seven-hour trip to a trailhead, looking for an easy trek up to Hungry Packer Lake (about 11,000 feet).

As expected, it dropped to about 20 degrees -- balmy compared to the way-below-zero temps on my winter mountaineering treks ... but still cold enough to sleep with the Camelbak insde my sleeping bag to keep it (and my clean water) from freezing.

Only problem is that I had left my low-land, running valve on the drink tube (below):

And at altitude, and with the slightest pressure (like turning over in my sleeping bag) it will drip. Very slowly. But leak it it will. And the tea saucer-sized wet spot was highly unpleasant at 2 a.m.

Fortunately, my below-zero-rated bag is synthetic fill and my long-johns wick away moisture. I still needed water, so stuck the valve in a Zip-Loc and went back to sleep.

Lewis Perdue: Half A Century Trekking

Outdoorsman Lewis Perdue is a NYTimes best-selling author, entrepreneur, professor, prize-winning journalist and scientist who would always rather be pushing the limits in the middle of nowhere.

This is Lew in his own words:

"I've spent more than a half a century in the boonies:

From the swamps and woodlands of Mississippi to the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks of New York and the Appalachians and Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina. And Alaska from the Southeast to the bush and over to Canada's Yukon.

"And for the past 30+ years in the Sierras from The Sierra Madre to The Eastern Sierra and Lake Tahoe.

"I've been designing, hacking & perfecting gear for all seasons. And I still am.